1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in compositions and methods of reducing animal pest infestation and more particularly, to compositions and methods of the type stated in which the compositions utilize as primary components, a eucalyptus oil, a low molecular weight, low carbon content alcohol and water.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Most animals, and particularly domesticated animals, are frequently infested with various forms of pests, such as lice, fleas, ticks and the like. This creates an annoyance to the pet owner or pet keeper inasmuch as the animal, such as a dog or a cat, will bring the infesting pests into a household environment and these pests will thereupon attempt to infest themselves in human beings, thereby requiring various forms of commercial pest control.
In an effort to eliminate this problem, many pet owners resort to the use of the so-called "pest control collars", such as the so-called "flea collars" and the like. These collars are not only expensive, but after a period of time, loose significant ability to deter pest infestation.
Other forms of pest control rely upon the use of pest repellent and pesticidal sprays. These sprays usually include chemical compositions which affect the nervous system of the pest. The residue can also act as a repellent and as long as the repellent odor is sufficiently strong the sprayed repellent will repel animal pests. Inasmuch as the prior art repellents quickly lost their repellent odor, the pet owner frequently had to spray the animal with the pest repellent and pesticidal composition in order to maintain any effective repellent and pesticidal activity. In essentially all cases, the flea collars and the pest sprays are an irritant to the animal and often result in sores and other dermal irregularities. Further, the pet owner must use caution in spraying the animal to avoid contact with the nose and mouth of the animal and particularly the eyes and ears of the animal. In addition, and in most cases, the pest spray was also a severe irritant to people and the party using the spray had to avoid direct contact with the same.
There are also many commercially available shampoo agents for washing domesticated animals, such as dogs and cats, and which contain insect pesticides and pest repellents. These commercially available shampoo agents suggest that the shampoo, even when washed from the animal, will leave a residue or at least a smell which is sufficient to repel pests, such as fleas and the like. However, after the shampoo is washed from the animal, the pest repellent and/or pest poisioning ability decreases rapidly with time and in a very short time frame after the shampoo is washed from the animal there remains little or no repellent or pesticidal activity. The commercially available sprays and shampoos all rely upon a pesticidal or repellent residue remaining on the animal coat or skin which provides the repellent or pesticidal activity. As a result these commercial sprays and shampoos become skin irritants and can result in severe skin irritation, if not infection, to the animal.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, generally all commercially available insect repellents of the types used with animals, whether or not incorporated in collars, shampoo agents, or the like, usually have a strong odor which is offensive to human beings. Conseqently, the animal which may have been trained and treated as an indoor animal, must remain in an outside environment for several days after the application of any insect repellent. In an effort to overcome the offensive odors to human beings some insect repellents have an odor countering agent, such as a perfume incorporated therein. However, these perfumes or other odor countering agents will mask or otherwise reduce the repellent ability and even to some extent the pesticidal activity.
Most of the commercially available repellents and shampoos use eucalyptus oil or eucalyptole, or various citric acid blends pennyroral and cedar oil as a primary ingredient. However, these repellents do not provide a strong repellent action and also provide effective pesticidal activity. Heretofore, there has not been any effective topically applied composition for reducing pest infestation or any shampoo agent for reducing pest infestation which does not have an offensive odor, which does not require periodic applications in relatively short time intervals and which is not an irritant to the animal. Further, there is not any composition of this type which is effective to repel and destroy pests when applied to human beings.